Batcat Week '13
by whipsy5
Summary: A few drabbles for batcat week on tumblr.
1. Midnight

**Day 1- Midnight**

The anger surprises her. It's a cold, living thing. The dull, ever-present rage, humming just beneath the surface, never letting her forget, was replaced by something visceral, almost tangible. As if she could reach out, grab it, and use it to strike him down.

It's what she wants to do. Hit him, hurt him. Like his death has been doing to her for the last few months.

Her hand flinches, wanting to reach for her phone to see the time, the date. She's embarrassed to realize she knows neither at the moment. Since that last kiss, the explosion that knocked the wind out of her even from so far a distance for reasons that had nothing to do with the powerful blast, she has been acutely aware of every day, every hour that has passed. Now it all seems to have blurred into nothing.

Simply because...because he's there. Bruce fucking Wayne is standing right there. Alive. In her hotel room. Near the doorway leading out to the balcony.

Selina never expected this moment. Never allowed herself to contemplate it for even a second. It was all but impossible. Only, it wasn't, obviously. He's here and she's pissed.

"Wayne," she drawls, surprised and grateful her voice is steady when she speaks.

His face is shadowed and she can't read his expression when he relies with a far too casual, "Ms. Kyle."

She closes the door and drops her things on the bed.

"You're supposed to be dead," she says without ceremony. Out of the corner of her eye she sees the tensing of his shoulders, the tightening of a fist. Good, she thinks vindictively, he's not as collected as he appears.

"I am." His reply comes quickly and she raises an eyebrow. "Dead," he emphasizes. "Officially, anyway."

He doesn't owe her a thing, she has to remind herself. It was war, a desperate time. It called for desperate measures. Anything could have happened. Many things did. Still, he doesn't owe her a thing.

The anger simmers.

He's not dead.

A strange mix of relief, regret, and elation fills her. Without that dull rage she's grown accustomed to coursing through her, she suddenly feels tired. Selina doesn't know what to do with her arms. They feel heavy at her sides. Useless.

As if he can see her indecision, Bruce takes a step further into the room. Then, another. Leaving the shadows behind, he moves towards her where she can see his face entirely now. Clear and open. He looks the same. He looks different.

He's not dead.

Something blooms deep inside her as looks into his eyes for the first time since... Selina can't help curse her thoughts. So much has occurred and she's dwelling on sentiment. Stupid, foolish, _costly_.

She knows she has to be very careful or she'll give herself away. And that's something she cannot afford to do.

Bruce speaks as the same time she asks what he's doing there.

The stony façade crumbles. "I'm taking you up on your offer."

_"Come with me..."_

As he flew that bomb over the ocean, it was the taste of her on his lips and her words replaying in his mind that he held on to, grasped desperately to anchor him.

"Unless..." His adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows. "It was a limited time offer?"

He's giving her an out. She can walk away. She can tell him to leave and he will. It's completely up to her.

Selina knows what her answer will be before she can reply. She's known it all along. And when she opens her mouth to tell him, it's only because her phone comes to life that she doesn't say the words.

The alarm is going off. It's midnight. Time to get ready - she had a date with the Lourve. That hardly matters now.

Reaching for the phone tossed on the bed she turns off the alarm.

12:00 it reads.

It's midnight, she thinks with a small smile. A new day is beginning.

Perfect time for a fresh start.


	2. Pictures

**Day 2- Pictures**

Where the hell was her phone?

Selina attempted to retrace her steps from the previous night to no avail. They'd been too eager, hardly able to keep their hands off each other as they stumbled in through the front door. Not that she was complaining, but...

All she wanted was to order lunch from that little deli a few blocks away. Just when she was going for her laptop, her eye caught sight of Bruce's phone over by the dresser, then traveled to the bathroom door. The shower was still running and his phone was undoubtedly locked...

That made her smile. What kind of thief would she be if she couldn't break into a smart phone?

It was far too easy to access and Selina planned on telling him just that as soon as he was done with his shower. _Now to find the deli's number_, she thought. But, when her thumb accidentally clicked the camera icon instead of contacts, the first thing that popped onto the touch screen was a picture of herself, sleeping. It was taken that very morning.

Selina studied the image for a few seconds. It was a close-up. A few strands of hair fell across her forehead, her eyes were clearly shut, but one side of her mouth was curled up into something of a smile.

The lighting, a soft, warm glow created by the sun coming in through the open window behind her, and the angle at which the picture was taken, was quite flattering, but she couldn't help wonder _why_ he would take it. Biting her bottom lip, she scrolled to the right and found another picture of herself.

It was taken a week to the day. She and Bruce had been walking along the beach on a whim. She had been tired of being cooped up indoors after a whole week of unexpected rain kept them there. And since he found it difficult to deny her much of anything (though he often attempted to put up a fight), they bought two umbrellas in the gift shop and left the hotel.

There was a soft drizzle and the sky was a muted grey. He said something which made her laugh and it was that image of herself she found - bare feet in the shallow waves, the umbrella tipped over her shoulder, and a carefree smile across what could be seen of her face.

She looked so young.

And..._happy_.

An unexpected warmth spread through her chest, but she schooled her expression quickly when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Never figured you for the sentimental type," she teased, tossing him his phone as he stepped out in a towel wrapped low around his waist.

The face he made let her know exactly what he thought of being called such a thing. Still, his countenance afterwards surprised her. She had been expecting some sort of excuse.

_I was simply trying out that feature..._

_I wanted to know the camera's capabilities..._

Something about the lighting perhaps. But there was none of it.

In that moment, his face was open and unguarded. Warm, even. It was one of those rare moments where he was exposed to her completely. He wasn't hiding anything from her.

"Well?" she breathed, expectantly. Smirking, if only to keep up appearances. But the fear that wormed its way into the pit of her stomach made it difficult to pretend it didn't bother her.

Had she asked him anything in that moment, he would have answered honestly. In fact, there were three words on the tip of his tongue. Words he hadn't spoken to anyone in a very long time. Not to Rachel. Not since his parents.

Those words...Selina could see them in his eyes, in the half-smile he gave her. And she could see he meant them, believed them.

It was too much. She could barely keep her gaze locked into his. It was only years of practice, of cons, of marks, that kept her from looking away.

That was when she stepped forward to crush her lips to his. She forgot all about lunch, forgot the pictures he took, forgot everything except those three words she wasn't ready to hear from him.


	3. Scars

**Day 3- Scars**

They both have them. Some visible along their skin (hands, arms, _everywhere_), others no one can see but themselves.

There are tiny, nearly imperceptible things crisscrossing Selina's lower back. Bruce only notices one day as he's placing wet kisses down along the curve of her spine. Her skin is smooth, near flawless, except for those little white lines scattered on her waist and hips. There's one running down her calf, another by a shoulder blade.

He doesn't ask what happened. This thing between them is still too new and they're still too wary of the other. Neither talks a lot. At least not about anything that truly matters. And yet, they understand each other in a way no one else does, in a way no one else _can_.

The masks might have thrown them into the same world, but Selina suspects it's the scars that keep them together.

She's not sure how she feels about that.


	4. AU

**Day 4- AU**

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman without possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a husband.

Mrs. Kyle believed this. She believed it wholeheartedly. Like most mothers of the day, Mrs. Kyle's sole purpose in life was to see all her daughters married well. If possible for love, but definitely for money. And she hoped to set things in motion to accomplish this at the upcoming ball.

The Kyle sisters, unlike many others in England, found themselves in a predicament as they did not believe as their mother did.

Their father, a near penniless clergyman had recently passed, and left very little income for his wife and three daughters (and no sons) to live on. Their small estate was in danger of being lost to any male relative that might decide to show up unannounced to claim it as rightful heir. That was the reason Mrs. Kyle had set her sights on the upcoming ball in Dent Lodge. Securing an invitation was not difficult, seeing as her daughters were by far the most beautiful in all the county. But, getting her daughters to do as she liked, well, that was going to be quite the accomplishment.

You see, all three girls were free spirits of strong, independent minds. And it was a difficult thing to convince them of anything they wished not to be convinced of.  
Rachel, the youngest, possessed the sweetest temper and though she would have liked very much to study everything and anything having to do with law (had it been acceptable for a woman to do so), she was an ardent believer that marrying for love was the only absolute to be guided by. Nothing else would induce her to marry.

Talia, the eldest at one and twenty, was by far the most distant, cold, and calculating, for she was still able to remember the extraordinary difficulties her parents faced in the harsh, cruel, and exponentially unfair world they lived in. Since no one had assisted them when they most needed it, there was no love in her heart for anyone not related to her. Thus, she had resolved _never_ to marry.

Selina, the middle child, also remembered the difficulties of having grown up with very little. She could clearly recall not having enough to eat, going to bed hungry and then having to endure the cold nights because they hadn't enough for a fire to keep them warm. Unlike her sisters, Selina understood that there was only way to survive, gaining both position and power, of course. Anger would get them nowhere and love was something only found in children's fairy tales. Selina knew better than to waste her time wishing for it.

At least, that's what she continuously told her sisters and mother. It was what she constantly advised herself. But hidden away, deep in her heart of hearts, she carried the impossible wish that there might be more to life than securing a large income. Nevertheless, it was something Selina had quite given up on long ago and only the remnants of that wish remained to haunt her from time to time.

...

Dent Lodge was situated handsomely atop a small hill and though it could boast the best view of the entire surrounding neighborhood, it possessed one tiny flaw. It contained one of the smaller ballrooms, which might have been quite the catastrophe. However, as that was its only shortcoming, it was easily forgiven. In every other way, it surpassed all other estates. The music was always lively and the hosts very pleasant.

Lady Dent and her son, Mr. Dent, welcomed the Kyle sisters and their mother with genuine smiles on their faces. The late Mr. Dent had hoped his son would marry the eldest Kyle, Talia. The girl was not only beautiful, but incredibly bright; there wasn't a silly thing about her. However, Harvey only had eyes for Rachel and now that his father was no longer there to sway him one way or the other, he was free to pursue his heart's desire.

All it took was a moment's work for his evening to turn from pleasant to the best of his young life. Once he secured Rachel's hand to lead off the first dance, he returned to his mother's side to continue greeting their guests.

...

The night was well underway. Dinner, an extravagant affair, was over and the dancing was about to begin again. As everyone returned to the ballroom, that was when they saw _him_.

He soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble presence; and all the young ladies wondered why they had not noticed him before.

"Who is that?" Selina wanted to ask her friend, Miss Gordon, a lovely girl with bright red hair. But before the question could be asked, Miss Gordon offered what little she knew.

His name was Bruce Wayne, only son and sole heir of the late Mr. Thomas Wayne and Lady Martha Wayne. He made his residence in Gotham County's Wayne Manor with only his butler, a Mr. Alfred Pennyworth to keep him company. Both he and Mr. Dent attended Oxford together and knew each other from their school days. Just as she finished speaking those words, they witnessed Dent approached Wayne. After a small and seemingly cordial exchange, they began to pace the room together.

Miss Gordon saved the most interesting things about Wayne for last. Lowering her voice to a whisper she told Selina that he had ten thousand pounds a year, which placed him among the wealthiest families in the country.

Leading the way, Mr. Dent, followed by Mr. Wayne, moved towards them. The proper introductions were made, bows and curtsies exchanged, and then Mr. Dent was called away.

"Excuse me," he said with a smile and left to his business.

Miss Gordon soon parted from them as well, claiming her father might need her. But when Selina caught sight of the young Mr. Blake, who Gordon spoke to, she understood the younger girl perfectly.

After a small exchange about the weather and a few other general topics, a long silence followed. Selina wondered why he remained at her side as it was clear he did not wish to enter into any sort of conversation with her. It was then Mr. Wayne spoke.

"Do you care to dance?" he asked without looking at her. His gaze was fixed on one of the painting directly before them of a woman wearing a blue gown, sitting on a garden bench.

"Do you ask me, sir, or the lady in blue?"

Mr. Wayne turned to face Selina, his eyes locked into hers, and he felt himself experiencing an emotion he was not familiar with. Before he could explain what it was he meant, he caught sight of her smile and realized she was only teasing him. It was kind of an affront to him but it was also wonderful because nobody ever treated him that way. Most ladies wouldn't risk offending him and hardly said anything worthwhile, but Miss Kyle didn't seem to share their disposition and he nearly returned her smile.

...

As Selina stood opposite Mr. Wayne, she could see the looks others around the room sent her way. Though they were situated between Mr. Dent and Rachel on one side and Mr. Blake and Barbara on the other, the majority of eyes were focused on on them, and her in particular for being singled out by such a man.

Selina took little notice of them, for she had other more pressing issues on her mind. Her heart was beating fast and she could feel the color rise to her face when his gaze lingered on her longer than was appropriate. It was strange. And, annoying. Usually she was the one turning men into simpletons simply because she batted her eyelashes at them.

But it was Bruce, with his handsome face and that irritating smirk, who was affecting her. It simply would not do. Thusly, when the music began, Selina set out to prove he was nothing to her.

Mr. Wayne, in a similar frame of mind because never could he recall a time when one of the opposite sex had intrigued him so, resolved to have nothing more to do with the lady once the music came to an end.

Both failed in their respective goals. But, if the lingering glances they shared was any indication, neither seemed to mind. In fact, neither the lady nor the gentleman could possibly know it at the time, but when one dance turned to two and what they began at this ball extended to the next, Mr. Wayne and Miss Kyle could only envision their future with no one but the other.

* * *

_AN: This one was fun! =D And obviously inspired by _Pride and Prejudice_, I even borrowed the description for Bruce from it. Oh and that line about it being 'an affront, but wonderful' is from Bale describing Bruce and Selina in _TDKR_. Okay, just three more days to go..._

_Happy Batcat Week, everyone! =)_


	5. Seasons

**Day 5- Seasons**

It was still summertime in Florence (and only a few days after Selina assisted him in deceiving Alfred) when Bruce discovered one of the most telling aspects of her personality. It was something he had not anticipated, but once he became aware of it, it made more than a little sense to him: Selina Kyle was a woman who was not used to sharing her bed. It did not matter what side she started out in, eventually (and without fail) she made her way to the middle until Bruce only had the edge to sleep on.

Once he returned miraculously from the dead, it had taken them nearly four whole weeks of dancing around each other before they gave in to the inevitable. But once it happened, Bruce realized that had been the easy part.

...

In Autumn, the winds picked up speed and the city grew colder. They packed up what few belongings they had and traveled to Paris. That ten hour train ride changed everything.

"Wayne, you can't be serious?" she droned, arms crossed over her chest, brown eyes glaring.

"I assure you, _Selina_, I am being quite serious," he replied with that infuriating grin plastered on his face.

The sound of her name falling from his lips had the strangest effect on her. She had to fight back the smile that tried to break free while at the same time wanting to hear him say it again.

The thing was, she would have preferred he continue addressing her as Ms. Kyle. It kept that ever-present, already established, _safe_ distance between them. It was that very distance which let her fall asleep at night knowing they would both still be there come morning. The fact he was actually suggesting they call each other by their first names made her nervous and rather uncomfortable. Two things she would rather not feel.

"What does it matter _what_ I call you?" she argued and realized her mistake a second too late.

His grin grew to a full-blown smile.

"_Exactly_."

The way his eyes twinkled with obvious satisfaction aggravated her beyond reason. Selina wanted to punch the look off his face. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes dramatically.

"It's all the same to me, _Bruce_," she replied, feigning indifference, wanting to show him it didn't affect her as much as it did.

...

Winter in Madrid was fun. Selina learned that though he had no reason to be, Bruce was quite the jealous individual.

Selina was a beautiful woman, confident, and incredibly sexy. Men practically threw themselves at her feet. Honestly, she was used to it. What she wasn't used to was seeing the man she was sleeping with seething with barely contained rage because she was smiling at a young barista's joke.

Cataloging the information for later use, she left the counter to sit with Bruce as they waited for their coffee.

"Want to tell me what's bothering you?" Selina asked, leaning into him to whisper in his ear. "You seem upset."

"It's cold. And that boy doesn't know what he's doing."

"You know...we don't need coffee, Bruce," she smirked. And though she didn't say the words out loud, her expression said it all.

_I'll warm you up._

...

Their Springtime in London was quite eventful. The soft, steady rain hardly kept Bruce and Selina indoors and they were out and about often.

They had dinner with Alfred on more than one occasion, Selina broke into the National Gallery simply to prove she could, and Bruce reached out to Blake, knowing he would again. But perhaps most importantly to them both, it was during this time that Selina learned how to share her bed.


	6. Regret

**Day 6- Regret**

The days following the bomb were the most difficult to endure. Not only did Bruce's body need healing, but his mind did as well. And, though he tried to ignore it, his heart.

Once the dust had settled and life in Gotham had all but returned to normal - or as normal as it would get given the circumstances - Bruce finally had the time to obsess over everything that had gone wrong. How it had all happened? _Why_?

Still reeling over the last few hours of Bane's occupation, Miranda - _Talia_ - and her betrayal, all the damage done to the city and its people, the lives lost...Bruce replayed it all in his head an infinite number of times. His obvious mistakes made him cringe, but not nearly as much as the stab wound to his side did when he inhaled too deep. He should have known, he kept telling himself, he should have known.

Because it was embarrassingly clear to him that he had made the wrong choices, picked the wrong individuals to trust and allowed them to get close. Rachel had chosen Harvey Dent over him and Talia had chosen to honor her father by finishing his work. Only Selina, the thief who understood she wasn't trusted, the brazen cat burglar who stole from him and never apologized, who led him straight to his enemy, only she had been honest about who she truly was. And only she... Of the women Bruce had allowed himself to care for, only she had chosen to come back. And a part of him wanted to think she had come back for him.

_"You could have gone anywhere, been anything, but you came back."_

_"So did you."_

_"Well then I guess we're both suckers."_

The kiss that followed shook him to his core. Some days, he could still feel her soft, full lips pressed to his.

When he was leaving Gotham on an old sailboat he snuck into, crossed the Atlantic, and then reached the coast of Portugal, that kiss lingered in his mind. But it was more than the act itself, it was what it represented. Or, what he hoped it did.

The thought ate at him. Night and day. Day and night. Despite his attempts to clear his mind, to focus on other more pressing matters, Selina Kyle was always there. The way she moved. That walk. Her eyes. Those lips. He wasn't blinded by her beauty, he was well aware of how dangerous a woman like her could be. How self-serving and unpredictable. _Adaptable_, she told him once. And yet, he couldn't help his mind running away with itself, contemplating what could have been, wanting what never was...

Of course he wondered what it would be like to kiss her again...to do _more_ than kiss her. More often than not he considered other things. Things that surprised him. Dancing a full song. Having dinner. Taking a walk. Simple things he had never allowed himself because he was too busy saving Gotham.


	7. Dreams

**AN: So this is late (boo!), but I did do all seven days (yay!). I'm kinda sad Batcat Week is over though... Anyway, many thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, you all are awesome! =D**

* * *

**Day 7- Dreams**

_"There's nothing out there for me."_

When Rachel died, as cliché as it sounded, a part of him died as well. His will to live, to keep fighting, it was gone. The only happy ending he had ever envisioned after he lost his parents centered around her. But the ring, the ceremony, it all vanished when she did.

Bruce didn't move on, how could he? He never went to find a life, to find someone... Or so Alfred liked to remind him.

_"...you're not living. You're just waiting, hoping for things to go bad again."_

Truthfully, he might have been. With his parents gone, with Rachel gone...Bruce had lost everything.

Then, Selina happened.

The first time she surprised him, she was like a spark of light in a never ending darkness. She was a breath of fresh air in his stale and stagnant life. She showed up out of nowhere and literally knocked him off his feet.

Then, when he least expected it, she was _there_, she didn't abandon him. She could have saved herself, but in the end, she came back, saved _him_ from Bane. All of Gordon's, Fox's, and Blake's hard work would have been for nothing otherwise. It was only because of Selina that Bruce was able to save Gotham.

In that moment, flying out into the ocean, Bruce was able to see things with such clarity. But carrying a nuclear bomb could have that effect.

He realized something. No matter how much he wanted it, his parents were never coming back. Neither was Rachel. What happened to them couldn't be undone. The pain he felt by their loss would never go away, but he did have a choice. Wallow in that hurt as he had been doing or take the second chance he was being given?

Before Bruce pulled the eject lever, he knew the answer.

...

The days following the detonation were spent recovering by most of Gotham, by Bruce in particular. A Dr. Thompkins in the Narrows helped him. She cleaned and bandaged him and didn't ask many questions. Given the location of her practice, she must have been used to treating random stab wounds and gun shots at all hours of the day. Bruce planned to reward her accordingly once he got out of the city, but before he could do that there was something else he had to take care of first.

During that time he watched _her_. Every night. Every day.

She took the bat pod and drove along the coast. She checked beneath the bridges and through the ports and all the hospitals with John Does. She even broke into Wayne Manor a few times and then Wayne Enterprises. Rendered speechless by her actions, he knew then he had made the right decision.

Sometimes he couldn't help dwell on what might have happened in Gotham had Bane and Talia not. He had the strangest dreams involving Selina, museum break-ins, rooftop chases, kisses under the moonlight...

Two more weeks she spent in Gotham looking for him. When she flew out of the country, he followed by ship. Once they were in the same continent again, it wasn't difficult to find her.

...

Perhaps, at the time, the whole thing in Florence had been a ruse for Alfred's benefit. That had been Bruce's intention initially. Ask Selina to help him out, bribe her if necessary, so Alfred's dream - the older man had called it a fantasy - could appear to have become a reality. After everything, Alfred was owed that peace of mind.

What Bruce had not counted on was Selina herself. Yet again, she surprised him. She helped him willingly, even after he let her believe he was dead. She pretended to smile and looked so incredibly happy to be sitting at that café with him that it was easy for Bruce to pretend too.

Until he understood she wasn't pretending and neither was he. The prospect of more, however, was still _terrifying_. For both. But, Bruce was done living in the past.

Somewhere along the line Alfred's dream had become his and Bruce chose to give her the pearls. Most men gave a ring.

"I'd rather take them when you're not looking," Selina smirked, using that teasing smile to hide behind.

What else could she do with all the feelings she was experiencing and didn't trust? A naked body, that was one thing. A naked heart, that took such courage to expose. And, Bruce could see it in her eyes, the doubt and uncertainty, the _fear_. Having wrestled with his own demons he tried to tell himself he wouldn't be hurt if she refused. But he was when she did.

It was two months later when she was finally able to accept the gift he offered, and everything that came with it. It was funny, though, Selina had assumed she would feel trapped the moment she allowed him clasp the pearls around her neck, but the opposite happened. It was as though a weight was lifted from her and she felt lighter and more free than she could ever remember being in her adult life.

No I dos were exchanged, however. They weren't necessary. Not for them. Selina had not believe in happy endings and neither had Bruce. And yet together, they found one.


End file.
